Family Ties
by AbbieHollowDays
Summary: Abbie and Andy Brooks were best friends once... What went wrong? And what will Abbie say when Andy's cousin, Matt comes back to town after she's out of Purgatory to find out what the hell happened to him? Post-Season 1 through Season 2 AU explores both the past and the present.
1. Chapter 1

Purgatory had completely fucked up Abbie's sense of time. It had felt like an hour, like a year, like a lifetime all at once. She'd been surprised when Crane and Jenny told her she'd really only been away for about forty-eight hours.

Even now that she was back home, it was only the startling change in the shower's water temperature (causing her to jump and nearly slip) that alerted her to the fact that she'd probably been standing there in a daze for over thirty minutes rather than her usual efficient five.

"That's great, Mills," she thought as she steadied herself. "You fight off Moloch in Purgatory only to nearly die in a freak bathroom accident."

Shaking off the embarrassment no one was there to see, she toweled dry, applied lotion and pulled out her hair dryer only to say a silent "fuck it" to herself and throw it back in the drawer. She'd just been to hell (or close enough to it) and back, why not give herself a break and rock her natural curls for a day or two?

As she slipped into a t-shirt and jeans she allowed her mind to wander back over the last few days. Even though she knew it was to be a seven-year long battle with evil, Abbie had half hoped while she was in Purgatory that between Crane, Jenny, Henry and Katrina (and everyone else who wasn't stuck in another realm) something magical would have happened and life would be back to normal by the time she got out. Clearly that was not the case and they were back to square one.

Crane and Jenny had been excitedly talking over each other the night she got out of purgatory, both eager to get her caught up on what had happened when she'd been away; but the joy of being free again quickly settled and she'd suddenly become way too tired and distracted to absorb more than every tenth word.

She'd finally put her hands up and said, "Please. I just can't… Not tonight. We can try this again later."

The rest of the car ride back was mostly silent. Everyone was kind enough to give her a few days rest with little interruption aside from highly apologetic texts from an exasperated 200-year-old Witness:

_"What is Error 8438s 896wt 98738 68916w 000d86 687l38 36y975 69h176? How does one correct it and also remove the infernal blue screen that insists on displaying at the most inopportune moments?!"_

And later:

_"I am told by your Sister that a Computer made by Apple does not experience these difficulties. When you are fully rested, might we peruse an establishment that sells these clearly superior devices?"_

Abbie sighed when she thought of Jenny. It was difficult to switch off that part of herself that always had to be the big sister and have the answers. She kicked herself for not listening to her advice now. They'd successfully resurrected The Kindred and fought off the Headless Horseman, but for what? She had put a positive spin on the whole deal so that Crane wouldn't feel too bad but couldn't shake the image of Katrina's face as they left her behind. It offered little explanation just… surrender and resignation. Now Jenny was locked up again and her new boss, full of suspicion and questions, was riding her ass.

The sound of the toaster popping up and a glance at the clock let Abbie know she'd once again lost track of time and was already running ten minutes behind on her day. She tucked her chapstick into her pocket, but it wasn't until she slid into her shoes and started leaving the room that she remembered she hadn't put anything in the toaster.

Grabbing her service revolver from it's holster, she did a quick sweep through her bedroom before cautiously making her way out into the hall. She'd just finished clearing the guest and laundry room before her eyes settled on the familiar smirk of the very beautiful man reclining oh so comfortably on her sofa.

"What… aren't you even going to say 'Good Morning, Gracie?'" He took a large bite of her last Pop Tart.

Abbie eyes narrowed. She pursed her lips and let her finger rest on the trigger for just a second longer than necessary while she momentarily considered shooting him in a non-lethal spot.

She dropped her arms and let out an indulgent sigh. "Matthew… You know I hate it when you call me that. What are you even doing here?"

Matt raised his hands in mock innocence. "I was just in the neighborhood and thought I'd stop by. Just so you know… I did try knocking, but the door was unlocked. I said 'hello', but you were in the shower for such an _awfully long time_." He paused for a moment as if he'd had a thought and then chuckled to himself and winked at her before continuing. "Then I got hungry, so I figured..."

Abbie rolled her eyes, and put up a hand to interrupt him. "Ok, number one: the door was definitely not unlocked. The door is never unlocked. Number two: seriously, dude… What is it with the men in your family and boundaries? Did you and Andy take classes on stalking and B&amp;E's at your family reunions?"

Matt's body grew rigid at the mention of cousin's name. His jaw tightened as he silently locked eyes with her.

Then she remembered.

"Oh shit, Matt! Andy! I..." She stopped, unsure of what to say.

For Abbie, it was almost as if Andy hadn't really died. It had been only a few days since she last saw her former partner in Purgatory, or some version of him anyway; but for his cousin Matt, it had probably been several weeks of confusing and conflicting information. She couldn't tell him Andy had sold his soul. She sure as hell couldn't tell him she'd been the one to finally kill him.

She had no idea what Captain Irving had even told the family. He'd gruffly said, "I'll handle it!" and waved her and Crane out the door. After that she'd been too caught up in everything else that was happening to even give it a second thought. Now Irving was in Tarrytown Hospital awaiting trial and… Fuck!

Abbie put her hands on her hips and exhaled sharply.

Matt was patience itself while she collected her thoughts. He carefully dusted the last of the crumbs off his custom-tailored designer slacks before leaning back and resting his arm over the back of the sofa. It could easily have been mistaken for a casual, relaxed pose if you didn't know him as well as Abbie did. She knew to look for the throbbing vein in his neck.

"Abbie," he said in a somber tone, "let's talk about Andy now, shall we?"


	2. Chapter 2

"Mathew Ian Park, meet Grace Abigail Mills." Andy introduced his cousin to his best friend with the same officious air one would use to present a commoner to a queen.

Abbie shook his hand and immediately descended into a fit of giggles. "Hey."

"Hey, yourself." Matt took a seat on the porch next to Andy and squinted at the sunlight.

"Matt got bored of California living so he begged his mom to let him stay with us for the summer!"

Abbie decided against contradicting this version of events. Andy had already told her days ago that Matt's mom and stepdad were getting divorced and things had gotten nasty between the couple. Matt had started skipping school to drink with friends and had gotten a ride home from the cops more than once. Finally fed up, she sent him packing off to Andy's house at the end of the school year in the hopes that a change of scenery and the influence of her sister's less chaotic household would do him some good.

"That's cool." She giggled again and slapped a hand over her mouth in embarrassment.

Andy raised an eyebrow, unsure of why Abbie was acting so strangely.

Matt leaned forward to address her. "Your name… 'Grace'… is that like from '_Amazing Grace_' or 'Grace Kelly'?

Abbie shrugged. "I dunno. I think it's just a family name. Wait… _you_ like Grace Kelly?"

"I just know her from watching Hitchcock movies with my… dad. My real dad. There was a cheap theater out in LA that used to have double features on Saturdays. Kinda cool."

"My little sister and I used to sneak downstairs after our foster mom went to sleep to watch old movies all the time. I loved _Spellbound_ and _Rear Window_, but I think _Psycho _was her favorite." She shuddered. "Too creepy for me!"

Jenny… If she were here, she'd probably make fun of her for always being such a scaredy cat. Abbie's expression darkened at the memory of her sister. Squeezing her eyes shut for a moment, she pushed away the sad thoughts before giving her friend and his cousin a weak smile.

Andy slung an arm over both her and Matt's shoulders. "Guys! Look at that! We already have so much in common! You like Hitchcock movies," he said to Abbie before turning to his cousin, "and you like Hitchcock movies-and while I think they're boring as hell-I like the both of you!"

He squeezed the three of them together. "This is going to be the best summerever!"

"Slow down, Andrew!" Mrs. Brooks hit Andy on the back of a head with the damp towel she'd been wiping the counter with. "Why do you always have to eat like a pig? Look how nicely Matthew eats! Why can't you do that? "

"How's this, mom?" Andy opened wide and displayed a mouth full of half chewed food.

For that he received another blow from the dish towel. "Andrew! You make me so_ pessed_!"

"Andrew…" Matt said, mimicking his aunt's Korean accent. "Stop _pessing _Aunt Li off!"

Mrs. Brooks whipped around and threatened Matt with the towel. "You think my accent is so funny, huh?" She smiled and the trio burst into laughter.

The doorbell rang and Andy rose to answer it.

"No, you sit. Finish your dinner." Mrs. Brooks put a hand on her son's shoulder and kissed the top of his head.

"Coming!" She called out and shuffled toward the door.

A minute later she was back with a winded Abbie. "Hey guys!"

She plopped into a seat at the head of the table and took a couple of deep breaths.

"Hi Abbie!" Matt smiled at her over his glass of water. "Did you bike the whole way here?"

Abbie nodded. "Pretty much! Let's just say Mrs. H was in rare form today. Felt good to expend some energy, ya know?"

She caught the look of concern exchanged between mother and son and quickly changed the subject. "Hey, is that bulgogi?"

She attempted to steal a piece of marinated beef from Andy's plate and was met with a death glare. "Don't even think about it, Abbs!"

"Do you want some, honey?" Mrs. Brooks rested a hand on a cabinet door. "I can fix you a plate!"

"No, I'm alright." Abbie patted her stomach. "I have a belly full of the Hendersons' world famous Spaghetti O's and hot dogs."

Mrs. Brooks turned away from the table and muttered something about "That devil woman" under her breath.

"We're done!" Andy took his and Matt's plates and dumped them in the sink. "Mom, we'll be in the basement."

"What are you three up to tonight?" Mrs. Brooks ran some hot water and squeezed soap onto a sponge.

"Watching _Night of the Living Dead_ and then Matt and Abbie are going to bore me to death with some more Hitchcock crap."

Matt followed Andy down the hallway. "Seriously. How can you not like them? Everybody likes Hitchcock."

"Abbie…," Mrs. Brooks said softly.

"Mm-hm?" Abbie pushed her chair under the table and slung her bag over her shoulder.

"I'll leave some bulgogi in the fridge for you to take home, OK?"

"With extra kimchi on the side?" Abbie asked with a smile.

"Of course!" Mrs. Brooks gave her a gentle shove. "Now go. Have fun! And don't let those boys destroy my basement."

She rolled her eyes, "I'll try!"

* * *

True to form, Andy complained bitterly for the first thirty minutes of _North by Northwest _and by the time the credits rolled he was passed out on the far corner of the massive sectional.

Matt and Abbie quietly played a made up game of one-upping each other with Hitchcock facts to entertain themselves.

"Did... you... know…" Matt wrinkled his brow, momentarily lost in thought. "Did you know he handcuffed one of the crew to a movie camera after giving him booze laced with a bunch of laxatives and then left him on a set all night?"

"Oh my god!" Abbie made gagging noises. "That's so gross! OK, my turn. Uh… Did you know he tied live birds to Tippi Hedren so she'd have a more realistic reaction? They nearly pecked her eyes out!"

"Oh… that was a good one! Did you know, he filmed chocolate for all the scenes with blood in Psycho."

Abbie brought a hand to her mouth in a mock yawn. "Boring! Everyone knows that one! Try again."

"Ok... Did you know… he had one of the shortest ever Oscar acceptance speeches? "Thank you… very much indeed." Matt did his best Alfred Hitchcock impression and counted the words on one hand. "Only five words."

"Were you going for Al Pacino there? Because it was spot on!" Matt hit her in the face with a pillow causing her to laugh. "Um... Um… Um… " Abbie stalled; her eyes darting around while she mentally searched for more trivia.

"Well...in _Notorious_ he filmed one of the longest on-screen kisses for the time."

"Really," Matt asked; cocking his head to one side.

"Yep! There was this rule, right…" Abbie turned toward Matt and tucked her feet under her before she continued, "that movie kisses couldn't go longer than a few seconds. So he had Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant kiss for three seconds then nuzzle noses; then kiss again for three seconds then nuzzle noses or talk; then back to kissing. He got the scene up to two and half minutes! The guy on AMC said it was one of the most erotic kisses for the time."

"An 'erotic' Eskimo kiss?" Matt laughed loudly and then peeked over at Andy to make sure he hadn't woken him up. "I can't even say that without laughing! I can't imagine trying to do that scene without cracking up."

"I bet you I could do it!" She said.

Matt looked at her with incredulity. "You could do that? You could go nose-to-nose with someone for two and a half minutes without laughing?"

"Yeah, well… I think I could anyway," Abbie replied; her initial confidence faltering.

"Nope! There's no backing down now! I'm taking that bet! You and me, rubbing noses for two and half minutes and you can't laugh, not once, or I win!

"Win what?" Abbie raised an eyebrow.

"Well when you fail-and you will-you…" he looked away in thought for a moment before returning to her with a smile, "you have to bake me an entire plate of those chocolate chip cookies that you made for Andy last week whenever, and how often, I ask. And if by some miracle you do win, I'll be your personal chauffeur for the week, so you can stop riding that damn rusty bike around town. Deal?

"You're on."

Matt faced Abbie and looked at the clock hanging on the wall. "Ok, when it turns 12:50 we'll go."

"Ok." Abbie was silent for mere seconds before she started snorting with suppressed laughter.

"See! You're never going to win. We haven't even started yet and you can't keep a straight face." Matt poked her in her side and made her laugh outright.

"No! I'm ok. I'm ok! I can do this!" She closed her eyes and shook her hands in front of her to calm herself down.

She breathed deeply as Matt counted down the remaining seconds. "Five, Four, Three, Two, One… Go."

Abbie opened her eyes and they touched noses. At first, she had to press her lips firmly together to avoid letting a giggle escape again; but after a few seconds she had settled and was in the zone.

**_One minute:_**

Their breathing slowed and began to synchronize.

**_One minute; thirty seconds:_**

Matt realized one of her fingers was resting on his bare leg. His throat felt dry and he swallowed hard.

**_Two minutes:_**

Abbie's heart started beating a little faster and her breathing became ragged.

**_Two minutes; thirty seconds:_**

Matt felt his jeans growing tighter and tried to adjust his position.

**_Two minutes; forty-five seconds:_**

Abbie's lips parted slightly and Matt's head tilted to one side as his attention fell to them.

**_Two minutes; fifty seconds:_**

Matt suddenly pressed his lips against hers and then pulled back to gauge her response.

**_Three minutes:_**

Abbie pulled him closer to her and deepened the kiss; swirling her tongue in his mouth.

**_Three minutes; thirty seconds:_**

Matt lifted Abbie's upper lip into his mouth with the tip of his tongue and gently sucked on it.

**_Four minutes:_**

He slid a hand under her shirt and rubbed her nipple with his thumb. Abbie moaned softly in response.

**_Four minutes; ten seconds:_**

The TV suddenly grew bright when the tape ejected itself from the VCR. An infomercial for Susan Powder's _Stop the Insanity_ weight loss system filled the room.

Matt and Abbie quickly separated as Andy yawned before asking, "Is it finally over? Thank. God! What are we doing now? Wanna raid the fridge or something?"

"No… Um. It's late. I should go." Abbie frantically began looking for her things to shove into her bag. Her mouth still tingling from the ghost of Matt's lips; her body felt as if it was vibrating. "Mrs. H is probably sitting on the porch waiting for me with a shotgun or maybe she'll call the cops this time." She managed a nervous laugh.

"You sure?" Matt handed a sneaker to her; his eyes sought to meet hers. "You don't have to go."

"Yeah, I'm good. I'll um…" She crammed the sneaker onto her foot. "I'll see you guys later, OK?"

"Night, Abbs!" Andy stretched, reclined back into his chair and closed his eyes as Abbie made her way to the stairs with feverish haste.

She turned around and flashed Matt a shy smile. "Night."

* * *

Andy's room was quiet apart from the sounds of controller buttons clicking and the kicks and punches of _Mortal Kombat _on the television.

"Hey, um…" Matt began cautiously; his mind was barely on the game in front of him. "You've known Abbie for a long time, right?"

"Yep," Andy responded. His tongue was hanging out of the corner of his mouth as his eyes remained fixed on the screen.

"Did you two ever…? I mean… You're not going out or anything are you?" Matt stopped pressing buttons and looked at Andy out of the corner of his eye.

"Dude! Are you even trying?" Andy gave a wicked laugh as his character pounded on his cousin's. "And, No. We're just friends."

Matt relaxed a little and turned his attention back to the game. "So... you don't mind if I ask her out, then?"

Andy snorted. "Knock yourself out man, but I'm telling you… She's way out of your league."

"But, you're _OK_ with it?" Matt spoke slowly and deliberately.

Andy paused the game and faced Matt. "Go… ask her out. Marry her, buy a house in the country and have loads of babies for all I care. Now can we please play the game, because your performance is quite frankly… appalling, right now. You should feel shame."

"You got it," Matt laughed. "You're so going down!"

Andy unpaused the game and for a few minutes the room was filled once again with the sounds of punches and grunts.

"FINISH HIM!" rang out from the TV. Matt huffed onto his fingers and polished them on his shirt after his character performed a fatality against his cousin's.

"Are you serious? How the hell did Reptile beat Baraka? That's impossible!" Andy exclaimed.

Matt laughed again before grabbing a handful of the popcorn that was sitting between them."You snooze, you lose, Cuz!"


	3. Chapter 3

Abbie grabbed her backpack and bolted for the door as soon as she heard the bell ring. "I'm going out, Mrs. H!"

A voice rang out from the patio. "Wait! Did you finish your chores? Where are you going?"

"Out! I'll be back later!" She hollered back.

"When's later?"

Abbie groaned and tapped her foot impatiently. "I'll find a phone and call you if it'll be after midnight. Bye!"

"Wait! What if I need..?" Abbie slammed the door shut before her foster mother could ask anything else.

"Where's Andy?" She grabbed Matt's arm and pulled him away from the house. "Did he have to work again?"

Matt nodded. "Someone called out at the pizza shop. They needed him to do deliveries."

"I thought…" He started, ruffling the back of his hair with his hand. "I mean… I can go home if you don't want to hang out with just me."

"And spend the next four hours scrubbing non-existent dirt from that ol' bitty's floors? No, thank you!"

He pointed toward a large green station wagon with wood paneling along the sides. "This is me. I borrowed Aunt Li's other car."

"Wow! You've only been here for three weeks and Mrs. Brooks let you borrow 'The Shaggin' Wagon'? Pretty impressive!" She hopped in and rested her bare feet on the dash.

He shut the passenger side door, leaned through the open window and waggled his eyebrows at her. "Well, I am… pretty damn impressive."

Abbie laughed and pushed his face out of the car. "So where are we going?"

"I dunno. Still don't know my way around this place. Any ideas?"

"Well, I tried to prepare for everything." She rifled through her overstuffed backpack and pulled a bottle of brown liquid. "I managed to score this!" She brought the bottle to her lips and kissed it. 'Thank you, Mrs. H.!"

Abbie thought for a moment and suddenly got very excited. "We can go to the lake! There are some richy rich houses out there and some of them are empty for the summer. Let's pick up some pizza and snacks and hang out there!"

Matt flashed a look of confusion. "Yeah, but how are we….?"

Abbie pulled a tiny case from her bag and shook it in the air. "Didn't I ever tell you I could pick locks?"

* * *

Matt glanced at his watch and took a swig of whiskey. "Ok, I'm calling it. You are _officially_ the worst burglar in the history of larceny. You should just give up and join the other side. Who knows... You might make an OK cop."

Abbie snorted. "Screw that! Besides, I've almost got it!" Daylight was fading fast and she squinted at the lock in front of her. "Hand me that little flashlight, will ya?"

Matt looked around at the tools scattered over ground outside the back entrance to the empty mansion. Locating the flashlight, he twisted it on and handed it to her. "Hate to bring this up, but you said you were 'almost there' twenty minutes ago."

"I'm not…" Abbie's words were muffled by the flashlight in her mouth, so she took it out. "I'm not as good at this as Jenny, ok? Just give me a minute."

"Jenny?" Matt knew Abbie didn't often bring up her sister. When she did he always tried to let her lead the conversation; afraid that pressing too her too hard would make her clam up again. But this time he was curious. "How did she learn to do this?" he pointed toward the door.

"Well…" She put one metal implement down and picked up another. "Jenny was convinced that one of our foster parents had hidden treasure in a safe out in the garage. So she went to the library, got a book, stole a kit from God knows where and practiced for two weeks straight. When she finally got it open there wasn't any treasure, but there _was_ a shitload of kiddie porn. Yada, yada, yada… the State was called in and we were shipped off to another foster home before the week was out. "

Matt was immediately glad that it was now too dark out for her to see the expression on his face. She had a way of casually sharing horrific details about her life as if she were talking about the weather.

Abbie continued. "After that, she was kind of obsessed with locks and breaking out of things. She got books on Houdini and a bunch of other escape artists, famous prison breaks, bank heists… stuff like that."

"It's amazing she hasn't broken out of the hospital yet!" he exclaimed with a dry laugh.

"Oh… she has. A couple of times. Knowing her, she'll do it again." The door made a loud click and she tried turning the knob. "Yes! We're in!"

* * *

"So do you know these people?" Matt asked. He was laying back in a reclining massage chair while Abbie walked around looking at each and every one of the family pictures on the walls, and tables and above the fireplace.

"Nope!" She picked up a crystal frame, wiped dust away with her fingers and set it back down gingerly.

"So how did you know they wouldn't be here?" Matt asked.

She looked over her shoulder and winked. "Oh. I've got… connections."

When his face registered confusion, she took a deep breath and spat out. "Mrs. H.'s neighbor, Mrs. Phillips comes over every Saturday morning to complain about _her_ sister Margery, who calls her every _Friday_ night to brag about her son, Stephen, who's a banker in New York City and makes millions and millions and has like four houses and takes her to Europe for two months every summer. Then…"

She inhaled again. "Then Mrs. Phillips always leaves and Mrs. H. spends the next two hours complaining to me about her son, Michael, who is a 'worthless bum' that 'never gave her anything but trouble and never calls or visits her'. Then if she's especially pissed off, she'll go on another rant about how kids are parasites and a waste of youth, time and energy and that babies should just be stuck in burlap bags and thrown into rivers and lakes like kittens."

This time, there wasn't any darkness to hide Matt's shock.

Abbie looked a little confused by his reaction, but finished her story. "So anyway, this…, " she waved a hand around the room, "is one of Mrs. Phillips' sisters' son's houses and they're in Tuscany until after Labor Day. I've heard about this place so much that I remembered the damn address by heart."

"Oh wait, I think I know who _they_ are!" Abbie grabbed a large picture and sat in Matt's lap on the recliner.

She pointed to a thin, middle aged woman with shoulder length blonde hair and a face that screamed plastic surgery junkie. "This… Is Ella Mackenzie-Montgomery. She married Edward Montgomery…," she pointed to a grey-haired man in his sixties, "when she was eighteen and he was forty-five because he was rich and she wanted to get out of the one-horse town she grew up in. But now, Ed can't satisfy her sexually, so she started sleeping with the stable boy, Beau and they're plotting to murder the old dude and take all his money." She giggled.

"Ok, who's this?" She pointed to a tall handsome, dark haired boy in his late twenties.

Matt played along with her game. "That… Is Kip Montgomery. Everyone thinks he's at Harvard to become a doctor, but he actually flunked out and racked up a ton of gambling debts he couldn't pay off. Now he's harvesting organs for the Russian Mafia."

"Nice!" Abbie congratulated him. "Ok, this is Melody Sinclair Mackenzie-Montgomery. You must always call her Melody Sinclair, never just Melody. She pushed her nanny down the stairs when she was six because she made that mistake. Melody Sinclair is also in love with Beau the stable boy and has a secret love child with him. They gave the baby the same name as one of the fillies in case someone overhears them talking."

Abbie and Matt laughed and she grabbed the bottle of whiskey from his hand and took a swig.

Matt took the picture from her and pointed to an elderly woman. "This… is Nana Mackenzie. She's 85 years old and people find her naked and wandering the streets in the early morning hours all the time. Everyone thinks it's because she's got Alzheimer's, but she's actually... a werewolf!" Matt growled and tickled her until she squealed and leapt from the chair.

"Come on…" She grabbed her backpack and extended a hand to him. "Let's check out the rest of the house."

* * *

Matt and Abbie poked their heads into each room in the house and eventually found their way into the master bedroom on the second floor.

"This house… is fucking insane! Who needs a kitchen in their bedroom?" Matt exclaimed, gesturing toward the microwave in the wet bar. "There's already a huge kitchen like 20 steps away!"

"I thought all your houses were like this in LA." Abbie said. "_Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous_ and all that."

"Oh no, we're from the _other_ side of town. We just try to be extra snobby to compensate for being poor." Matt said with a smirk. He opened a door on the left side of the room and turned on the light. "Hey, check out this bathtub! I think there's room for five people in here."

"Kinky," she responded. She opened a set of double doors on the opposite side of the room and yelled, "OH. MY. GOD!" before stepping in and closing the door behind her.

Matt ran from the bathroom and yelled, "What? What happened?!" He was half afraid she'd been wrong about how long the house would be empty and someone was coming.

"Nothing! Just… wait out there!" She yelled back.

"Okay….?" Matt sat on the bed and bounced on it a few times before flopping backwards onto the plush linens. Five minutes later, the sounds of drawers being opened could still be heard from the other side of the doors. "Are you ever coming out?"

"Yeah,..., " She grunted and he heard her struggling with something. "Be right out. Close your eyes!"

"They've _been_ closed. I'm about to fall asleep out here," he replied.

The doors opened and for a moment Abbie was quiet. "Ok, you can open them!"

Matt rose to prop himself up on this elbows, looked at Abbie and swallowed hard.

She was dressed in a skintight strapless black dress that fell just a few inches below her shapely ass. She'd pinned her hair up with an ornate jeweled comb and a few tendrils framed her face. She was just barely able to balance herself on the five-inch heels that were a size and a half too large for her, but she pouted her lips and struck a provocative pose like the ones she'd seen models do in fashion magazines.

"What do you think?" She giggled and her breasts jiggled at the top of the dress.

Matt sat up to get a better look at her. His heart started racing and it became harder for him to breathe. "Abbie…," he started.

Unaware of the effect she was having on him, she interrupted and said, "No… I'm Melody Sinclair!" She brought the back of her hand to her head and, in a dramatic voice said, "Beau… Oh, Beau! I can't stand it any longer. I don't want all this wealth and these kitchens and big bathrooms anymore. I want to be poor and snobby like the people in Los Angeles. Take me… Take me away from this life of luxury and ease!" She grabbed his hand and attempted to pull him up from the bed and into her performance. "What does Beau say?"

He stayed planted on the bed and he had a pained expression as he stared at her breasts. "Abbie!" he said louder this time.

She looked down and saw the tent in his shorts. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "Oh… um…."

For a moment, neither said a word. Then Abbie looked down at her breasts and asked, "Do you… want to see them?"

His face instantly flushed but he nodded his head in response.

She stepped back and reached to pull down the side zipper. Once it reached the bottom, she held onto the dress for a while and took a deep breath. She let the dress drop to the floor and instantly closed her eyes so she couldn't see his expression when he saw her bare breasts.

Matt said nothing for what seemed like an eternity.

"You can't do that! You can't not say anything," she exclaimed, eyes still shut tightly. "It's creepy. You have to say something!"

"Your… nipples." He hesitated. "They're… brown," he finally finished.

She instinctively covered her breasts and opened her eyes to glare at him. "Yeah… so?" she asked defensively.

"It's just… I've seen pictures before and a couple in real life, but…" He stopped as he noticed her backing away; her eyes misty.

"No wait!" He got up and tried to pull her back toward the bed. "I didn't mean that in a bad way. Honest!" He thought for a minute and then said, "Here… I'll make it even."

He reached behind his head and pulling his shirt off in one motion, then pushed down his shorts and boxers and kicked them away from him. Putting his hands on his hips he said, "There. Both naked."

Abbie stared at the semi-erect appendage surrounded by a thatch of curly dark brown hair and looked concerned.

Matt followed her gaze and then said in a panic, "It gets bigger! I swear!"

"That…," she replied, "Is the exact _opposite_ of what I was worried about!"

Taking this as a compliment to his impressive manhood, Matt smiled broadly.

Abbie, on the other hand was remembering how tight she'd felt around just_one_ of her slender fingers whenever she dared to touch herself after Mrs. H had gone to bed.

"Can I touch them?" Matt gestured toward her breasts, still tightly covered by her arms.

She pursed her lips for a minute, then dropped her arms and looked away from him. "Go ahead."

At first, he wasn't sure how to approach them. He rested his hands on her chest and then slid them down over her nipples. Then he cupped one in each hand and made them jiggle. Abbie looked back at him and saw a look of childish glee. She rolled her eyes and looked away again.

When he tried squeezing them she slapped his hands away and stepped back. "Ow! Dude, they're not Nerf balls! I'm attached to them! That hurts!"

He looked stricken. "Sorry! I'm sorry!"

"Here…do this…" She took his hands and placed an open palm on the outside of both breasts and positioned his thumbs over her nipples. "Use your thumbs and rub..._gently_."

He did this for a minute or two, frequently glancing at her face to see her reaction.

"Mmmm..." She took deep breaths. "That feels good."

After another few minutes, he spoke again. "My hands are kind of tired." He dropped them to his sides and shook them out. "What do you want to do now?"

"I don't know… " She shrugged and sat down on the bed. "Have you ever done this before?"

"Well... " he sat down next to her. "There was this girl once...who said she wanted to give me a blowjob, and I was all excited, but turns out she didn't know what she was doing and she actually… just… um… _blew _on it."

Abbie laughed and covered her face. "What did you do?!"

"I did what any red-blooded American man would do." He smiled. "I called my mother and asked her to drive me home!"

When their laughter settled down, Matt nudged her and asked, "What about you? Have you ever…?"

She rolled her eyes. "There were guys who said they wanted to before, but when it came down to it, they always got… weird."

"What do you mean 'weird'?" he prodded.

"Like… They expected me to _know_ stuff… to teach them stuff or do gross things they saw in a porno or something. Sometimes they got really scary about it. I think…" Abbie looked down at her fingers. "I'm just glad I know how to fight like a guy. "

She seemed lost in thought for a moment and then took a deep breath. "Other guys… nice guys had crushes on me too sometimes, but after a while they seemed to lose interest or their parents freaked out and put the kibosh on anything happening. It was alright when we were just friends, but who wants their son to bring home a black girl who gets in trouble at school and has a crazy mother and sister, you know?"

Encouraged by his silence, she continued. "That's… why I like hanging out with you. I don't feel like 'Little Orphan Abbie,' the poor troubled black girl. I just feel like… Abbie."

"Except for when you're Melody Sinclair…" He smirked.

Abbie laughed, "Yeah… except for then."

Matt looked over at her. "So… what do you want to do?"

Abbie bit her lip for a moment and then leaned over and rubbed her nose against his. "How about…. Two minutes; thirty seconds?"

* * *

Matt kissed Abbie deeply and then pulled away from her for a moment to get a clear look at her face. "Are you sure? I don't want things to get, you know… weird… or anything."

"Yes… I'm sure." She leaned in for another kiss.

"Ok, but I don't have any… things... with me."

"Oh!" She stopped, jumped off the bed to get her backpack from the walk-in closet and then reached in and dropped a handful of condoms. "Courtesy of Mrs. H. It's part of her strict 'No kids or kittens' policy. She throws them at me practically every time I leave the house."

Matt sat up on one elbow. "Um… you brought them with you?"

"Don't look at me like that! I just wanted to, you know… always 'Be Prepared.' Just in case." She threw up the three finger salute of the Girl Scouts.

"You were a girl scout?" Matt laughed at the thought of Abbie selling cookies door-to-door.

"No! But I did steal a uniform and sash from one who was mean to me at school. I still have it in a suitcase under my bed. It might still fit."

"I think I might need to see that." He pulled her back down on the bed and kissed her neck. "But… maybe tomorrow."

* * *

Abbie laid her head on Matt's bare chest and clung to him for warmth. "Are you... " she started. "Was it good?"

"Yeah. You? Did I hurt you?" He stopped rubbing her back and tilted his head downward to look at her.

"It did a little at first but then it wasn't that bad." She absentmindedly rubbed his chest. "I've felt worse things."

"It gets better," Matt said. "I mean, I've heard girls say it's better after a while."

"Mmm-hmm" she said sleepily. "We'll test that theory next time."

"Next time?" Matt asked. "So, we can do this again?"

"Of course, stupid!" Abbie replied with a soft smile. "Now shut up so I can sleep. I have to get up in a few hours and pretend I slept at the house last night."

Matt rubbed her back until he heard her breathing became deeper and more rhythmic. After a few moments replaying the evening in his mind, he kissed her head, pulled her close and drifted off to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Andy wiped the sweat from his face and stood in front of the only working fan in the pizza shop's kitchen. For the tenth time in the last fifty minutes he peered out through the narrow window into the seating area and grimaced at the spectacle of Matt and Abbie being all… couple-y.

His mother had insisted he get a job this summer, but Matt had loads of money from his own guilt-ridden parents. As for Abbie, he was never quite sure how, but she always seemed to have cash on hand when she needed it. So while he was stuck with five-hundred degree ovens in the dead heat of the summer, they had plenty of time to _bond_.

Now, he felt completely out of place when the three of them were together. If it wasn't having to find some place to look while they were making out, it was trying to make sense of their inside jokes or losing the vote on what to do when they wanted to hang out. He was also stuck with the thankless task of making up believable excuses when Matt disappeared at weird hours of the day or night.

He was about to look through the window again when he heard a "Hey, Jurkle!" come from behind him. He leaned on the counter, put his head down, and sighed.

And then... there was _that_.

Once, when he couldn't find his regular work pants, his mother convinced him to wear an old pair that he knew were too short. "They're fine," she'd said. "And you'll be behind the counter all night. No one will see you or care!"

However, the moment he got into work, the jokes started flying. Unfortunately for Andy, the pizza shop's mandatory uniform included suspenders. Then when someone saw him talking with Abbie, they got the brilliant idea to name him "Jurkle"-the Japanese Steve Urkle-the four-eyed, pocket protector-wearing geek who pined after Laura Winslow on the show Family Matters. It didn't make a difference that he didn't wear glasses, was in decent shape, wasn't particularly studious or, more importantly, that he was actually _Korean _; the name had stuck.

Andy turned away from the counter to see the delivery driver's smirking face. "Jesus! Give it a rest, Eric," he spat out. He pulled a pizza from the oven, slid it into a box and and slammed the oven door shut. "I'm taking my break!"

He dusted as much flour as he could off his clothes and made his way to the front of the shop. "Ahem." He leaned on the table and loomed over the kissing couple. Abbie leaned back and wiped some lip gloss off Matt's face.

"Hey, Cuz! How's it going," Matt asked with a sheepish grin.

"You want to get outta here for a bit? It's a furnace back there and I'm craving pretty much _anything _but pizza right now. I've got fifteen minutes."

"No can do! We were just going to head up to a party." He paused and looked at Abbie before continuing. "You… wanna come? I can call in and pretend I'm your dad and tell them there's an emergency at home or something."

Andy considered it for a moment, then recoiled at the thought of spending yet another evening stranded with drunk, obnoxious strangers while his cousin and Abbie had sex in an unoccupied room.

"No… I should stay. They're short-staffed tonight anyway. Just… go. I'll think of something to tell mom."

"Thanks, man!" Matt pulled out his wallet and threw some cash on the table and turned to Abbie. "You ready?" She nodded and shimmied out of the booth.

Abbie took a few steps toward the exit before walking back to Andy and giving him a hug and a peck on the cheek. "You're the best!"

"Yeah, yeah..." Andy shoved his fists into his pockets and watched them walk out the door hand-in-hand.

"Jurkle! Your break over yet? I got a delivery to do."

Andy dropped his head and shoulders and took a deep breath before shouting, "Coming!"

"_Worst. Summer. Ever!" _he muttered under his breath.

* * *

"_That's _why you call me Gracie? Really?" Abbie poked Matt hard in the ribs, eliciting a groan. "She's a complete airhead!"

"What? It's cute!" Matt said with a sly smile.

Andy looked over at the bickering couple and rolled his eyes. Matt had insisted on going to two different _Blockbuster Video _stores to find a copy of_The George and Gracie Allen Show _so that Abbie could see the "classic comedy duo." A few minutes into the first episode and neither of them were even watching it anymore.

"You call me Gracie one more time and I swear to God I'll never let you touch me again." She narrowed her eyes and pointed a finger at Matt but her serious face was soon compromised by a giggle when he tickled her.

Andy ran his palms up over his face and through his hair then said, "Guys, do ya mind if we watch something else? Maybe with blood and guts or a punchline that's not about like… Eisenhower?" Under his breath he muttered "… you know… something from _this century. _"

Matt felt around for the remote and tossed it over to him. "Yeah, sure… knock yourself out," he said before burying his face in Abbie's neck and causing her to squeal.

Andy mindlessly flipped through the channels for several minutes before landing on a movie trailer. "Oh man! I forgot Star Wars II was out! Wanna see it on Sunday night?"

"We… kinda already saw it…" Abbie said screwing up her face. "It was awful! We hated it."

"I thought you were gonna wait… " Andy began but then he decided against it. After a few more minutes of clicking through channels, he heard his mother come in and set her keys down.

"Can one of you boys help me bring in the groceries?" She shouted down the stairs into the basement.

He looked over at Matt who was now playing with Abbie's hands; completely oblivious to anything else around him. "Yeah, be right there," he shouted back.

* * *

Mrs. Brooks shuffled down the stairs and towards the light of the kitchen where her son and nephew were eating breakfast.

"Why are you two up so early? It's not even six-thirty yet." She poured herself a cup of coffee from the cup the boys had made and leaned back against the counter.

"Sorry if we woke you up, mom," Andy said. "We're going to Six Flags for the day, remember? I told you about it weeks ago when I asked for the day off work." He shoveled a spoonful of corn flakes into his mouth. "We have to leave in a half an hour if we're going to make it to Lake George by the time they open."

Mrs. Brooks yawned and walked out to the living room mumbling, "Oh… I think I remember something about that. Let me know when you leave, OK?"

Turning to Matt, he said, "I have the snacks and drinks in the car already. Did you pack all your gear?"

"Yep!" He kicked the opened duffel bag next to him. "I think I got everything. Hopefully Abbie and I can share this bag so we don't have to lug a ton of stuff."

Andy held a spoonful halfway between the bowl and his mouth. "You invited Abbie?"

Matt raised an eyebrow. "...Yes...? She was so excited to go when I told her about it... I thought..." He hesitated as Andy threw the spoon back in the bowl; splattering milk over the table. "...it would... be fun. Did I do something wrong?"

"Matt... I bought those tickets months ago, on sale, so we could go together. Just us. Just the guys."

Matt leaned over in his chair to pulled out his wallet. "Look, if it's about the money I can pay for her t..."

"It's not about the money!" Andy pushed away from the table. "In all the time I've talked about this trip, did I ever once mention her?"

Matt shook his head. "N-no..."

Andy continued, "That's because Abbie _ruins _amusement park trips. She doesn't mean to. She really thinks she likes them. She always wants to like them, but she gets motion sickness on the _tea cups _and is afraid of the big rides. Do you know how many times I've ended up walking around with her while everyone else gets on the roller coasters? That's why I didn't invite her!"

The doorbell rang and the boys heard Mrs. Brooks rise to answer it.

"And now… she's got you. Her… whatever you two are... and I'm the third wheel… again!" He crossed his arms.

Matt thought for a moment and then his face brightened. "Why don't we invite someone else to go along? Then they can walk around with her!"

"Who are we going to get to go at six o'clock in the morning? Besides, if I wanted to invite someone else, I would have. I've barely seen you all summer, man. Can you think of the last time we hung out and did something fun, just us?"

Matt sat back and sighed. "Do you want me to uninvite her? We haven't bought her ticket yet. We can just drop her off on the way out there."

"And be the asshole to told her she can't go at the last minute? No fucking way."

Abbie entered and immediately rushed to kiss Matt. "Hey, baby!" She ruffled his hair then sat in his lap. Sensing the tension in the room, she looked back and forth at their faces a few times before asking, "Is… everything ok?"

"Just perfect!" Andy rose from his seat and plastered an exaggerated smile on his face that fell seconds before he turned away from the table. "I'm going to take a leak, and then I'll be out in the car," he said without looking at them. "We gotta be out of here in 10 minutes… don't make us late."

Abbie looked to Matt for an explanation but he only closed his eyes and shook his head in response.

* * *

Andy pushed through the front door, grunted a weary greeting to his mother, climbed the stairs, flopped onto his bed and threw an arm over his eyes to block out the early evening light that was invading his room.

In what seemed like seconds later, he felt a head rest on his outstretched bicep and an arm grasping him around his waist. He opened one eye and was momentarily blinded by his bedroom light. When his vision finally adjusted, he saw Abbie staring up at him from the bed and Matt leaning on his dresser with a goofy grin.

He placed the arm back over his eyes again and groaned. "What?" His voice was raspy from sleep.

"So Matt and I were talking…" Abbie began, snuggling closer to him, '...and we realized we've been dicks."

"_ Major _dicks," Matt interjected.

"Big, huge monster dicks with…"

"Guys…" Andy cleared his throat. "Please stop saying 'dicks' now."

Abbie giggled. "Well… anyway… we've been so wrapped up in each other that we haven't been very good friends or cousins to you for a while."

Matt crossed one leg over the other and added, "And we want to make it up to you… starting tonight."

Andy's lips curled into a smile. "I'm listening…"

"Well, first," Abbie said, "We're taking you out to dinner at that steakhouse you like-although I still can't figure out who thought peanut shells all over the floor was such a good idea. Then we'll go to a movie-_ your choice _-and then out for ice cream. We're going to treat you as an apology for being such d-,uh, jerks."

"And…," Matt continued, "we're going to be better about all the gushy stuff when you're around."

"And I'll take up needlepoint so I have something to do when you men are out doing your men things."

"And you should get to hang out with just Abbie sometimes too." Matt kicked at one of Andy's feet. "So… are we cool?"

Andy removed the arm from his eyes and looked at both of their hopeful, expectant faces. "Yeah… we're cool!"

"Good!" Abbie immediately lifted Andy's arm from behind her head and started pushing him off the bed with her toes. "Then go take a shower. You stink _so bad _, I don't think I could have taken another minute of trying to convince you. You're so easy!"

"Hey… I have a very manly smell. I smell like hard work." He rose slowly while she pulled him up from the bed.

"You smell like funk and ass." She grunted trying to push him toward the bathroom door while he pushed against her. "Please use soap. Please use an entire bar of soap. And scalding hot water. And two deodorants. Layer that shit!"

"And Axe Body Spray?" He gave her a wicked grin before shutting the door.

"No," she shouted to the door. "Do not use the Axe! Stay away from the Axe! I would like to be able to breathe tonight!"

Abbie heard laughter from the other side of the door before he opened it and sprayed a black bottle with red lettering in her direction.

"Pleh! You asshole," she screeched. "I'm so going to get you back!"

Andy shut the door again before she could get reach him.

"Fine… drown in that shit for all I care." She pounded on the door with her open palm. "That's is why you don't have girlfriend though… just so you know!"

Once she heard the shower running she left to join Matt who was laughing and still propped up against Andy's desk.

She leaned into him and pouted, "Don't laugh… now I'm going to smell like this crap all night."

He sniffed at her. "I don't know… it's not _that _bad."

Her eyes widened. "Please don't ever, ever use it or I sw... "

"I know, I know…, " he interrupted, his hands slid under her shorts and squeezed her bottom. "You swear to God, you'll never let me touch you again."

* * *

Four and a half hours later and the happy trio was sitting around a park bench outside Sweet Scoops eating their ice creams.

Matt took a spoonful of mocha almond chip and said, "So, then we were thinking… what if I could stay here for my senior year? I haven't gotten into any trouble while I've been here. At least… as far as mom knows." He winked at Abbie. "Plus, the schools are better here and it would look good for me when I apply to colleges."

"Can they even do that so late in the summer," Andy asked. "There's only two more weeks until school starts."

"I don't know why not. Danny Reynolds didn't start until nearly October last year, remember?" Abbie tapped the plastic spoon against her teeth. "I mean, it's no guarantee his mom would even go for it, but it's worth a shot, right?" Matt nodded in agreement.

"Besides" she said conspiratorially, "Can you imagine how awesome it would be to take Mrs. Hertzog's chemistry class together?"

"Oh God. I'm not sure she's ready to have the three of us in class next year." Andy looked slightly terrified. "I don't think _I'm _ready to have the three of us in chemistry this year."

"You wuss… It wasn't that bad. Your eyebrows grew back and now we _know _never to mix iodates with alcohols. Learning accomplished!" Abbie went to take a spoonful of butter pecan and was momentarily confused when she felt a wet cold spot on her cheek. She looked up to find Andy's spoon in the same position as it was when he flung his ice cream at her.

She grabbed her bowl and ran after Andy who was already a few steps ahead of her. "Yeah, you better run," she shouted after him. "You're dead, Brooks!"


End file.
